Inmate from Eloy Gains Freedom: What About Others?

The San Francisco Chronicle reports today about an aggravated felon who was able to stave off removal, largely by having the resources to go back into criminal court to have his previous guilty plea withdrawn, plus he had terrific community support. This is wonderful for this man; congratulations to him, his family, and his supporters. At the same time, the case must make us pause and be concerned about the countless others who do not have such resources, but who also deserve a second chance. We need real comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the injustices of removal provisions as well. Here’s the story by Lance Williams:

A Fremont man who spent more than four years in prison fighting deportation to Afghanistan was allowed to go home last week.

The government has dropped its attempt to deport Afghan native Obaidullah “Chito” Rahimi, 33, said Vincent Picard, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Eloy, Ariz., where Rahimi had been held. An Alameda County official had lobbied for Rahimi’s release, saying his long incarceration was unjust.

Rahimi came to California at age 12 as a refugee of the Soviet-Afghan war. He was arrested and ordered deported in 2003, when immigration authorities discovered he had pleaded guilty to having sex with his underage girlfriend six years before.

Court records show the path to freedom for Rahimi opened last month, when the Alameda County district attorney’s office allowed him to withdraw the guilty plea he entered in 1997 to a misdemeanor charge of statutory rape. Instead, he pleaded guilty to threatening a witness, a charge that is not on the government’s list of deportable offenses. Click here for the rest of the story.

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